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BOOK REPORT The allure of warm waters Book explores Montana, Wyoming hot spots In the old days - the 1970s - hot potting was a pursuit pursued with a passion by a mobile minority in Bozeman, among others.
Things have changed. Development, increasing pressure from more people and the ill-mannered and thoughtless acts of a few have changed things forever. There's now a curfew on the Boiling River. Chico has become a four-star resort, but is still affordable. Only the wooden swimming hole at Norris has remained relatively unchanged, although the once popular "nudie night" has since been banned. What hasn't changed, however, is many people's natural attraction to warm waters. There's just something about heated pools, whether encased in concrete or mired in mud, that tends to draw humans. You only need to look as far as the back yards of your neighbors where "spas," once known as hot tubs, now proliferate. For those without their own spa, Jeff Birkby's new book, "Touring Montana and Wyoming Hot Springs," has just made finding places to soak your bones much easier. This is the kind of book you want to keep in your car - along with your swimming suit and towel - for quick reference. Taking a weekend trip? Look up what springs you'll be passing along the way and take a side trip to soak your tired bottom and refresh your soul. Or use it as a destination planner. There's nothing like soaking in a hot springs after a day of skiing, especially at a place where you can gaze at the winter stars.
Falcon Press did a nice job of laying the book out, breaking down the sites into regions and coordinating the spots to an index at the front. Birkby even went so far as to offer tips on etiquette and what to pack along. In addition, he gives his top six picks for different amenities, from the most isolated (Angela Well 28 miles north of Miles City) to the most luxurious (Saratoga Inn Resort and Hot Springs Spa in southeastern Wyoming). Combined with the details on how to get to the springs and what to expect is some interesting history on the sites and historical photos. For example, Montana was home to several large resort spas in the 1800s, the waters believed to have curative and rejuvenating powers. Some of the spas sprung up around boom towns during the Gold Rush years. It must have been strange and wonderful to see such grand hotels rising from the undeveloped plains of Montana and Wyoming. Sadly, most of these grand resorts fell to ruin or burned. The exceptions you'll find in Birkby's book. He writes, "The decades from 1890 to 1920 were the heyday of the region's elegant hot springs resorts. Luxurious hotels were built at Hunter's, Chico, Corwin, and Broadwater hot springs, and the newly constructed Northern Pacific Railroad brought a constant stream of vacationers eager to enjoy these resorts. "The era of sumptuous resorts lasted only about 30 years. Several of the resorts were destroyed in spectacular fires, and one was severely damaged by an earthquake." Whether elaborately developed or rustic, the warm waters of hot springs seem to draw people to them - like a moth to a porch light. Birkby's book provides a good excuse to explore some of these sites. What he doesn't offer, however, is any funny pictures of what strange positions your hair will freeze into on a cold winter night's soak. You'll have to take those yourself. Don't forget your waterproof camera.
Brett French is the outdoor writer for The Billings Gazette. He can be contacted by telephone at: (406) 657-1387, or by e-mail at: citynews@bsw.net
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